Children's home run by East Sussex County Council in Lewes

Inspection report children’s home: SC068179 1 SC068179 Registered provider: East Sussex County Council

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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 children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to four children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is registered to provide single-sex occupancy and currently accommodates females. The home is operated by a local authority.

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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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

 Effective management and clear leadership benefit the young people. Managers guide and support the cohesive staff team to provide the young people with opportunities to fulfil their potential and improve their future life chances. Inspection report children’s home: SC068179 2  Training for the staff in implementing a therapeutic parenting approach to the care of the young people is having a positive effect on their understanding of the young people’s behaviour, and on their approach to providing bespoke support.  The young people, who have complex needs, are making significant progress in many aspects of their lives. The staff implement sensitive, effective interventions and appropriate measures to protect the young people and advance their development.  The young people develop strong and meaningful relationships with the staff and a sense of safety and security living at the home. They benefit from a

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Key findings from this inspection

nurturing, individualised approach, knowing that the staff will respond to their needs.

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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

 A restriction of a young person’s liberty was not correctly recorded.  The locking of the kitchen to prevent young people from accessing it is sometimes done without a clear, recorded rationale.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/08/2016 Full Good 27/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 30/09/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC068179 3

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Recommendations

 Restraint also includes restricting a child’s liberty of movement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.42) Specifically, record any such event as a restraint.  Any decision to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modification to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of the individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Through consistent, predictable and nurturing support, the young people thrive and learn how to keep themselves safe. They make significant progress in many aspects of their lives. Their behaviour, emotional resilience and educational progress improves as they settle into a stable environment where they feel valued and safe. The young people experience warmth and attentiveness from the staff and develop trusting relationships knowing that the staff will respond to their needs. An independent reviewing officer commented that ‘the home works with some extremely complex and challenging young people. Positive outcomes and experiences are definitely the ethos for the home.’

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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. The staff offer advice and guidance on a healthy lifestyle. The young people receive support from external health professionals to promote their health, with the staff team continuously reinforcing messages to the young people on how to keep themselves healthy. A specialist outreach sexual health nurse remarked, ‘This is one of the best homes that I have worked in whilst undertaking my current job of nine years.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are aspirational for the young people to make progress with their education. At times, education is a challenge for some of the young people. The staff work closely and effectively with the Virtual School, supporting bespoke and creative educational programmes to provide the young people with the best opportunities to succeed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff value the young people’s views and opinions. Through key-work sessions, residents’ meetings and informal conversations, the young people have opportunities to raise any concerns, make suggestions and discuss their care plans. Complaints are rare and are followed up and resolved, demonstrating to the young people that their opinions Inspection report children’s home: SC068179 4 are important and that they are listened to and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are proactive in supporting contact between the young people and their families. The young people benefit from the staff working closely with their families to help them achieve their goals and to maintain and sustain meaningful relationships. A social worker commented that ‘contact has been a significant issue and the commitment shown has been outstanding’.

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

Within a warm and nurturing environment, the young people develop trusting, positive relationships with the staff and a sense of safety and security living at the home. The staff recognise and respond to the young people’s complex individual needs, giving the young people confidence to approach the staff with any concerns and accept the support offered.

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

The staff have a thorough understanding of the young people’s specific needs and their vulnerabilities. They continually monitor the young people’s progress to ensure that they are receiving appropriate support to promote positive outcomes. Care plans and risk assessments are current, with clear strategies to guide the staff in providing effective interventions and appropriate measures to protect the young people and advance their development. The content of one-to-one sessions with the young people is linked to their care plans and risk assessments and is directly relevant to their presenting needs.

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

The young people receive excellent support to help them manage their emotions. The involvement of a child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) worker in team meetings provides valuable support for the staff to understand the emotional needs of the young people in the context of their experiences of trauma and resulting attachment difficulties. This, together with the training for the staff in taking a therapeutic parenting approach, enables the staff to implement sensitive, effective interventions and use appropriate measures to protect the young people.

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

From the foundation of meaningful relationships, together with thoughtful, consistent care and close supervision, the staff effectively manage the young people’s highly complex emotional and behaviour difficulties. Despite some extremely challenging behaviour from some of the young people, there have been no recent occasions when the staff have used physical intervention to manage young people’s behaviour. On one occasion, the front door was locked to prevent a young person exiting the building in an extremely distressed state. The staff correctly decided to take this measure to prevent the risk of harm. This restriction of the young person’s liberty of movement was not recorded as restraint in accordance with the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Records also show that there are times when the kitchen is locked to ensure the safety of the young people and the staff. This practice of

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

limiting the young people’s access to all shared areas of the home has not been informed by rigorous, individual risk assessments to demonstrate that the decision has been made to safeguard the young people’s welfare. Inspection report children’s home: SC068179 5 The staff respond effectively when a young person leaves the home without permission, applying agreed procedures to safeguard them and ensure their safe return. The staff are successful in reducing such high-risk behaviour over time. Some young people who have a history of frequent incidents of being reported missing, and placing themselves in situations where they were in danger of exploitation, no longer put themselves at such high levels of risk. The staff balance the need to protect the young people with appropriate support to help them develop their independence skills and their awareness of how to keep themselves safe, so that they can access the local community safely.

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

The staff receive comprehensive training in all aspects of safeguarding. Their appreciation of the dangers that the young people face increases their vigilance in identifying potential risks and protective measures. Managers take prompt and appropriate action to address all safeguarding concerns, including making referrals to external agencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young people and the staff benefit from effective management and clear leadership. The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced and, with an efficient deputy manager, provides the staff team with strong support. Utilising a thorough knowledge and understanding of the young people’s individual needs and continuous monitoring of their progress, managers guide the staff team to provide the young people with opportunities to fulfil their potential and improve their future life chances.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive comprehensive training, enabling them to perform their roles competently. Protecting the young people is constantly at the forefront of their practice. Recent training has included therapeutic parenting. The staff receive regular, reflective supervision, during which they discuss the progress of young people, safeguarding issues and agree action points to improve practice. A member of the specialist looked after children team from CAMHS provides additional support for the staff team by attending fortnightly team meetings. This support and the manager’s guidance assist the staff in understanding the meaning of each young person’s behaviour and the impact of their past experiences on their behaviour and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a clear focus on monitoring the quality of care provided for the young people. Six-monthly reviews are detailed and thorough, with specific action points to maintain high standards and deliver improvements. Monthly reports by an independent visitor contribute to an effective quality assurance system.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Extremely effective partnership working with other professionals and agencies promotes positive outcomes for the young people. There is a clear ‘team around the child’ approach, particularly in relation to mental health services and education, ensuring that the young people receive the specialist support they need. Inspection report children’s home: SC068179 6

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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 differences 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 whom 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: SC068179 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, St. Anne’s Crescent, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1UE

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Inspector

Jan Hunnam, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC068179 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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