Children's Home run by Treehouse Educare Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report children’s home: 1241023 1 Registered provider: Treehouse Educare Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 14 children and young people who have learning disabilities. It is located in a semi-rural location within easy reach of local facilities and services. There are three large houses on the site in which young people can live, plus a school which is owned by the organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has been without a registered manager since April 2017. Leaders and managers have appointed a manager who will take up the post imminently. The responsible individual and a day-to-day manager currently lead the staff team.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers have addressed some of the requirements and recommendations made at the previous inspection. The areas which that have not been fully addressed require further work to embed into staff practice.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Most young people make good progress while residing at the home; they are fully engaged in education, activities, maintaining relationships with family and friends and accessing other support available to them. They are developing positive life, social and self-care skills while also developing positive strategies to manage their feelings and emotions. Inspection report children’s home: 1241023 2 Staff have been swift to raise any concerns with other professionals when they identify that they are unable to meet the needs of young people. They work collaboratively with placing authorities to implement interim plans while alternative, more appropriate, placements are sought.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers have developed their pre-admission process. They ensure that all of the required information and consents are gained prior to a placement being made. They consider the needs and risks a young person presents alongside those of the young people currently placed in the home. Managers considered the risk factors associated with a recent admission and sought additional information and guidance. Records, including the individual risk assessment and impact risk assessment, lack information and detail to evidence this. Staff have not recorded all of the strategies used to manage and minimise risk.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff use a wide variety of de-escalation methods and strategies, and due to this rarely apply physical intervention. Staff record incidents and behaviour concerns with details of what occurred before and during the incident. Records lack evidence of young people being offered an opportunity to give their views about the measures used. Managers have not evidenced that they consistently review, monitor or evaluate records. Two records viewed referred to young people making complaints, but staff did not identify or act on these.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have formulated plans for staff to follow in the event of a missing from home episode, but plans lack sufficient practical information, advice and clarity about the actions of staff in an event.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff generally receive regular and effective supervision. However, a member of staff has had gaps in frequency. The day-to-day manager has created a system to assist in the monitoring of this to prevent it from happening in future.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers have sourced a new independent visitor who attends the home each month. They provide an additional scrutiny, challenge and review of the home to leaders and managers.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There continues to be regular use of agency staff to supplement staff ratios. This has improved since the last inspection with the aim of developing a stable and consistent staff team. Leaders and managers have recruited staff to address this with a continual recruitment drive in place.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Leaders and managers have improved their recruitment process to ensure that newly appointed staff are suitable, but they still lack evidence that they have gained verification of previous employment in which the new staff worked with children. Inspection report children’s home: 1241023 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/02/2017 Full Good

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Statutory requirements

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

12: The protection of children standard 12.—(1) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. 01/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

Appointment of manager 27.—(1) The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if— (a) there is no registered manager in respect of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)) 01/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

Fitness of workers 32.—(1) The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The requirements are that— (d) full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(3)(d)) 01/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records The registered person must ensure that— (a) within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— (vii) the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the 01/05/2018 Inspection report children’s home: 1241023 4 measure; and (viii) a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; c) within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(viii)(c))

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Recommendations

 Staff should have the skills and confidence to communicate easily and understand the importance of listening to, involving and responding to the children they care for. Staff should understand that they have a responsibility to observe, notice and respond to children who are expressing their views, acknowledging that it is not the sole responsibility of the child to ‘tell’. They should also understand how children might communicate their feelings through their behaviour, or non- verbally especially where the child has a disability which does not allow them to communicate as others might. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22 paragraph 4.10)

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42 paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 Where there is a possibility that a child will run away or go missing from a children’s home placement, their placement plan should include a strategy to minimise this risk. If the child is looked-after, their care plan (arranged by their placing authority) should include such a strategy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45 paragraph 9.24) Specifically, to ensure that plans detail all relevant practical advice and information.

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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. Inspection report children’s home: 1241023 5 This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Treehouse Educare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Boldings Brook, Dorking Road, Warnham, Horsham RH12 3RZ

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Inspector

Amanda Maxwell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1241023 6 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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