Children's Home run by The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd in West Sussex

Inspection report children‟s home: SC449155 1 SC449155 Registered provider: The Amicus Community Arundel 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 children‟s home is part of an independent children‟s therapeutic community, which is accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It provides therapeutic care for up to four children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered on 18 May 2012.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 14 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC449155 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/11/2017 Full Good 09/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/07/2016 Full Good 01/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC449155 3

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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 protection of children standard In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home‟s child protection policies; that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child‟s health. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(v)(vii)(d)) 01/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that— promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(b)(2)(f)(h)) 01/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

Medicines The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and 01/11/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC449155 4 disposal of medicines received into the children‟s home. In particular the registered person must ensure that— medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them; medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23(1)(2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Children‟s case records The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) 01/11/2018

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Recommendations

 For children‟s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children‟s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than „institutional‟ impression. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the above principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  Any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable,

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Recommendations

ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. In some cases children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint (regulation 35(3)(c)). Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this (regulation 7(2)(b)(iii)). Inspection report children‟s home: SC449155 5 („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 49, paragraph 9.60)  As set out in regulations 31−33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and

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Recommendations

minimise potential risks to them. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress while living at the home. They receive good-quality care and support provided by trained staff through the home‟s therapeutic approach. Children explore their previous experiences and traumas in a safe, secure way that enables each of them to learn and develop positive strategies to manage their feelings and anxieties. Each child builds relationships of trust through the consistent support and care provided by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to meet their physical and emotional health needs. They refer to others and gain specialist help and guidance when required. However, the home‟s records are not up to date to reflect all the appointments attended or advice and guidance gained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each chid is engaged in full-time education or training. Staff support children to seek voluntary or paid work, while equipping and preparing them for their roles. Children are also encouraged to develop and maintain interests, hobbies and friendships. They each attend local community activities and clubs of their choosing, which they enjoy. Children have attended and hosted parties to celebrate birthdays and achievements. During inspection, the children packed for their planned holiday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are continually involved in decisions that are made. They make choices about how their bedrooms are presented, the activities they take part in and menu planning. The children are encouraged to talk daily about their thoughts, feelings, challenges, hopes and aspirations for the day. A strength of the home is the regular link sessions, which provide good-quality practical advice, education and opportunities to develop relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and prepare children for transitions into and on from the home through thorough child-focused plans. Children develop essential life skills that promote their independence and long-term outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Staff have very good knowledge and understanding about each child‟s behaviours and Inspection report children‟s home: SC449155 6 risk factors. There is a positive safeguarding culture in the home. Staff report and refer concerns swiftly if required. Allegations are referred, and internal investigations provide lessons to be learned, which impact on staff practice. However, during inspection, weaknesses were identified in the way that managers and staff manage the environment. The property was not well presented, and areas of damage or in need of repair and improvement had not been rectified swiftly. Access to the property was not secure on arrival, food was not correctly stored to avoid cross contamination and chemicals were not stored securely.

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improvement to be good

Children have clear behaviour support plans that provide practical advice and guidance to staff, which advise how to support a child when anxious or in crisis. Staff use physical intervention at times of significant challenge, and records detail this well, although staff do not consistently explore with the child how they felt about the measure. Staff record sanctions and rewards poorly. The effectiveness of the sanction is not explored, and children‟s views are not always recorded. When staff have recorded them, they are detailed in several records, which are not collectively reviewed.

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improvement to be good

Staff effectively manage and respond to incidents of missing. Staff search for children and, throughout, maintain contact with them. Staff work collaboratively with others, requesting support when needed. Staff talk with children on return to establish their well-being and reasons for going missing.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not ensured that medication storage, management and records meet the required standards. Medication was not stored in the provided locked cupboard, and out- of-date medication and other unwanted medications have not been disposed of. Gaps in records do not detail why medication has been missed, refused or not given.

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improvement to be good

Staff follow detailed risk assessments, which detail what is required to manage and minimise risk. These documents have improved and provide more practical advice and guidance for staff.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment processes and records are not explicit and do not evidence that all required aspects have been explored. One reference did not state who verified it or when it was verified. Another record did not clearly state the reason for a gap in employment history.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders, managers and staff have experienced a difficult time in the home over recent months. This has been due to changes in staffing, staff vacancies and children needing high levels of support and guidance to assist them through these times.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is managed by a day-to-day manager under the close guidance of the registered manager who also oversees another home. The organisation is currently reviewing this management structure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers‟ monitoring and oversight have not been consistently good to ensure that all areas of weakness are identified or addressed. Managers have focused on the demands Inspection report children‟s home: SC449155 7 of meeting children‟s day-to-day needs, and the management and scrutiny applied to other areas have declined.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home‟s development plan is extensive and explores many areas to improve. The plan is not specific, lacking clear deadlines, nor is what has been achieved easily identifiable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders, managers and staff work effectively and collaboratively with others. This positively impacts on children‟s plans and achievements. Staff advocate on behalf of those in their care effectively to ensure that care is bespoke for each child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff access good-quality training specific to their roles. They attend regular and effective practice and clinical supervision. Newly inducted staff engage in a thorough induction process, which affords them useful shadow opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

External monitoring is good. The independent visitor attends monthly and provides an account of children‟s progress and actions against previously identified shortfalls. The manager acts to address any new concerns that are raised.

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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: SC449155 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Amicus Community Arundel Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Amicus Community, PO Box 79, Arundel BN18 9XA

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Inspector

Amanda Maxwell, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC449155 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 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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