Children's Home run by Child First Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report children’s home: SC044259 1 SC044259 Registered provider: Child First 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

The home provides care for up to 5 children who have had difficulties with family relationships and dynamics, and have experienced significant trauma in their life. The home has a registered manager who has been in post since January 2016.

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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

Date of last inspection: 12 September 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2017 Full Good 10/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/09/2016 Full Good 16/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC044259 2

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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

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, use monitoring systems to scrutinise and evaluate practice that results in the physical restraint of children. 04/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing— injury to any person (including the child); serious damage to the property of any person (including the child). Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20(1)(a)(b) and (2)) 04/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40(4)(c)) 04/06/2018

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Recommendations

 The relevant officer or teams within the local authority should be informed promptly of all allegations that come to an employer’s attention or that are made directly to the police. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19) In particular, ensure the designated officer is consulted when a child makes an allegation of assault against a member of staff. Inspection report children’s home: SC044259 3  Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59) In particular, ensure that all actions taken following the physical restraint of a child are recorded in one document, in order to promote more effective

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Recommendations

monitoring of practice.  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) In particular, ensure that assessments undertaken prior to a child being admitted analyse the likely impact of the admission on both the child being admitted and those children already living in the home.  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, ensure that records pertaining to children’s disclosures of past

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Recommendations

abuse are kept up to date and provide a clear audit trail of the actions taken.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The majority of children admitted to the home form positive, trusting relationships with staff. This has a positive effect on their sense of security and emotional well-being. Staff remain committed to supporting all children and building positive relationships, even when a child may appear to reject this. Staff are sensitive to children’s individual needs and consistently treat children with respect, particularly in relation to the child’s personal development and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to express their views on the care they are receiving, which helps them to feel that they are valued, and that their opinions count. Children’s meetings are effective forums for resolving emerging conflicts or any dissatisfaction with the care being provided. Staff are committed to promoting independent advocacy services; this enhances the prospect of children’s views being heard and taken into account.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A flexible approach is taken to ensuring that children’s educational needs are met. Effective partnership working with teaching staff ensures that all avenues are explored in supporting children to remain in education and take their examinations. The registered Inspection report children’s home: SC044259 4 manager ensures that all relevant professionals are consulted when there are emerging concerns which could impact negatively on a child’s education if not addressed in a timely way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Close attention is paid to ensuring that children’s health needs are met. Children are encouraged to keep all medical appointments and pursue a healthy lifestyle. The mental health and emotional well-being of children are prioritised. The registered manager regularly consults the organisation’s clinical psychologist regarding children’s psychological needs. She is proactive in identifying specialist support agencies and making referrals where this has been agreed with the child’s social worker.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care staff are nurturing and responsive to children’s needs. A senior member of staff who was spoken to during this inspection gave a clear description of how she uses her skills and knowledge to support children when they are feeling anxious, scared and emotionally vulnerable. Less-experienced staff are adopting a similar approach, and benefiting from having positive role models whose practice they can observe. Despite this overall high standard of practice, some shortfalls were identified in relation to restraint practice and responding to children who make allegations. Consequently, a small minority of children have had a less positive experience of the care being provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans clearly identify how their individual needs will be met. Effective care planning has ensured that some children have made significant progress towards meeting their placing authorities’ long-term goals for their care. Children are encouraged and supported to play an active role in the care-planning process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are welcomed sensitively to the home. A child who has been admitted to the home in recent weeks told the inspector that he was given all the information he needed in order to understand the daily routines, the expectations staff had of him and who he could talk to if he had any worries. The child said that staff, and the majority of the children, had made him feel welcome and put him at ease. The child’s parent confirmed that this difficult process had been managed very well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a well-established programme for supporting children to acquire life skills and preparing them for semi-independence. Some children have made exceptional progress on this programme and, as a result, are well prepared as they approach adulthood. Children who struggle to gain semi-independence skills receive a patient, considered response from staff. This ensures that their self-confidence and self-esteem are not undermined.

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

The welfare and safety of children are prioritised. Staff have a clear understanding of each child’s needs, vulnerabilities and behaviours that could result in them coming to harm. Children’s individual risk assessments reflect known areas of concern, and are updated when significant information comes to light. Senior and more-experienced staff have a detailed knowledge of the local community, particularly in relation to areas where Inspection report children’s home: SC044259 5 children could become vulnerable to exploitation. This knowledge is drawn upon when reviewing and updating risk assessments and developing strategies for keeping children safe.

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

Staff are committed to raising children’s awareness of the risks they face in their local community. This is achieved by using various resources to initiate discussion in children’s meetings, and through one-to-one conversations in key-work sessions. As a result, children become more aware of the risks associated with substance misuse, sexual exploitation and accessing the internet and social media sites. Staff have the skills to engage children in discussions about personal relationships and empower them to recognise when a relationship is becoming abusive. Consequently, most children become better equipped for keeping themselves safe.

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

Over time, most children, but not all, become more able to manage their anger and frustration and their behaviour becomes less challenging. The registered manager has introduced a new system for monitoring children’s behaviour; this will result in early intervention plans and personalised behaviour management plans being developed. Since the last inspection, in September 2017, there has been an increase in the number of times staff have initiated physical interventions to manage children’s behaviour. On one occasion, a physical restraint was undertaken when there was no imminent danger of the child causing injury to themselves or others, or causing serious damage to property.

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

On two occasions, managers and staff did not take effective action in response to comments made and actions taken by children during and after a physical restraint. Staff did not immediately clarify why the children were claiming they had been assaulted during the restraint, or immediately establish if a child had been hurt during the incident. The designated person in the local authority was not consulted when a child informed the police that an assault had taken place while they were being physically restrained.

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

Despite this shortfall, it is evident that the registered manager maintains effective liaison with external professionals involved in safeguarding children. Good partnership working has ensured that the police have responded quickly when there have been serious concerns about children who have gone missing from the home. The registered manager has been particularly effective in challenging agencies that are perceived not to have fully met their responsibilities for keeping children safe. The standard of written child protection referrals to external agencies is high.

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

Staff implement agreed procedures when children go missing from the home, and take action to locate children at the earliest opportunity. Senior management monitoring of missing person reports is particularly effective, and has identified areas where staff practice could be further developed. The registered manager consistently liaises with children’s placing authorities regarding the provision of independent return home interviews, with varying amounts of success.

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

Recruitment procedures have been amended since the home was inspected in September 2017. Action has been taken to ensure that risk assessments will be Inspection report children’s home: SC044259 6 undertaken regarding the suitability of new staff, when it is appropriate to do so. A new system for clarifying applicants’ career histories has also been introduced. These developments are designed to ensure that the potential for employing unsuitable adults in the home is minimised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager holds the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. She is an effective leader and is supported well by a skilled deputy manager. There is a stable and committed team of residential care staff who share the registered manager’s high aspirations for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are well-established systems for monitoring the quality of care being provided. These include a monthly action plan for addressing any weaknesses that have been identified and responding to recommendations made by the home’s independent visitor. Overall, the standard of monitoring is good, although on one occasion there was insufficient scrutiny of a physical restraint report, and shortfalls in the standard of practice were not identified. This shortfall in monitoring resulted in safeguarding procedures not being fully implemented. Ofsted was not informed that an allegation had been made against a member of staff and the designated officer was not consulted. However, the child’s placing authority was kept fully informed of the situation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, in September 2017, the registered manager has ensured that assessments of the likely impact a new admission will have are completed in a timely way. These assessments take into account the needs and behaviours of all children in the home, and demonstrate that leaders and managers are committed to ensuring that there is minimal disruption. The impact assessments would be even more effective if there was greater analysis of how children already living in the home might influence and affect the child being admitted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager demonstrates a strong commitment to developing the knowledge and skills of the staff team. She has identified a number of training opportunities for staff, in addition to the comprehensive training programme provided by the organisation. Training sessions are regularly delivered in staff team meetings. This ensures that staff have the opportunity to reflect on their practice and learn new approaches to caring and supporting vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The standard of record-keeping is mostly good. Records pertaining to child protection referrals are excellent, and clearly demonstrate the concern, the action taken and the outcome. However, in one case there was not a clear audit trail or chronology of events relating to the actions taken when a child spoke about known historical abuse. Records relating to the physical restraint of children would be improved if all relevant information was contained within a single document.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager communicates effectively with professionals, and with parents when it is appropriate to do so. This ensures that there is good partnership working and Inspection report children’s home: SC044259 7 more effective planning in relation to meeting the needs of the children. The registered manager is tenacious and consistently makes a concerted effort to engage professionals when there are growing concerns for the safety and well-being of a child.

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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: SC044259 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Child First Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: c/o 40 Oxford Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 1UT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Johanna Davys Havard

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Inspector

Stephen Collett: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC044259 9 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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