Children's Home run by West Sussex County Council in West Sussex

Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 1 SC037441 Registered provider: West Sussex County Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people who have a moderate or severe learning disability. The service provides a mix of permanent placements and short-stay respite care.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 2012.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 31 January 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/01/2018 Full Good 03/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/10/2016 Full Good 19/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 3

p.2

Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, ensure that the decision to complete a body map is based on an assessment of the risk to that individual young person.  Children should be supported by staff to understand what abuse is. They should be given information about how to report abuse or any concerns about possible abuse. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.16) In particular, ensure that young people who are accessing the community more independently can identify acceptable and unacceptable behaviour and know how to report it.  Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for

p.3

Recommendations

safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5) In particular, ensure that these reports are received by Ofsted in a timely fashion.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from highly individualised care that strongly reflects their needs and preferences. For example, young people’s bedrooms, daily routines and activities are all personalised to meet their needs. This is particularly the case for those young people who live permanently in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the young people in their care very well. They listen to them, have fun with them and they try and give them the very best experiences that they can. In their turn, young people demonstrate their trust in staff, and clearly develop an attachment both to their carers and their home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

These positive relationships mean that young people make progress. Some, especially those who are in the home for a longer duration, make exceptional progress, particularly in their self-care and independence skills. Other young people learn to regulate their behaviours better so that they can now access community resources.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people attend school regularly, and some are winning prizes for their Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 4 achievements. Young people’s basic health improves, in that they can now tolerate the dentist and the optician. Their medication routines are carefully and consistently followed by staff, so that they are kept as healthy as possible.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff clearly value these young people as individuals and their views are treated as important and acted on. At mealtimes, staff encourage young people to decide on the particulars of their meals, and later to choose what activity they would like to do around the home or in the garden. Staff regularly lead more formal consultation meetings at which young people enjoy giving their views on, for example, food tastings or on a choice of garden equipment.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key information is usefully displayed in text and picture form. This means that all young people can understand important information such as which staff are caring for them and when, or how to complain. Young people now recognise the independent visitor to the home, and individual advocacy is also available, giving young people sound opportunities to confide in others as well as staff.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people strongly benefit from a well-equipped home and garden, offering them a variety of active pursuits such as the trampoline, as well as resources for imaginative and sensory play. In addition, young people enjoy their routine access to the community library and to local youth clubs. Despite their initial anxieties, young people who live permanently in the home took great pleasure in planning and then going on a successful summer holiday with staff.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are very skilled at preparing young people to live more independently. They have developed picture-based strategies for each young person in all aspects of daily life, such as using the washing machine and/or making up a lunchbox. These strategies have become very successful, and as one parent said, ‘He can now make me a cup of tea – he never could before.’

p.4

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

Staff are appropriately vigilant and protective of young people in their charge. They are usually sensitive to balancing safeguarding with privacy, for example making risk-based decisions on night-time observations of young people. However, the decision whether to produce a body map of a young person is made routinely and is insufficiently risk-based.

p.4

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

Young people are encouraged to take some age-appropriate risks such as attending a youth club on their own. However, young people are not yet sufficiently familiar with the skills they require to protect themselves from abuse. Strategies successfully used in the home, such as diverting young people’s attention away from the more adult aspects of social media, do not provide the young people with opportunities to develop useful skills that they could use when unaccompanied.

p.4

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

Young people do not go missing from this home. They are well protected by good staff ratios, staff knowledge of their routines, and sensible home security arrangements. There are appropriate missing from home policies and protocols in place and staff are aware of Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 5 their responsibilities should such an event happen.

p.4

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

Behaviour management is a strength in the home and young people benefit from some excellent and consistent practice. Staff use every opportunity to develop effective strategies to minimise unwanted behaviour and are proactive in involving external specialists. This results in social workers and families noting fewer behavioural escalations, and means that young people appear calmer and more content.

p.5

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

Physical restraint is sparingly used and is at the lowest possible level to ensure the young people’s safety. Usage is well monitored, and staff receive annual refresher training that has a good focus on avoidance and diversionary tactics rather than confrontation. Sanctions are also rarely used, but when necessary are used appropriately and involve young people wherever possible.

p.5

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

Staff receive annual safeguarding training which is appropriately focused on the challenges faced within residential homes. Young people’s risk assessments are personalised, appropriately detailed, and reviewed in a timely fashion. Recruitment practice is rigorous, and such routine practice makes an essential contribution towards ensuring young people’s safety.

p.5

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

Young people live in a comfortable and safe environment which is regularly checked to minimise any risks. Some young people are enthusiastically involved in fire safety checks, and this helps them to understand the importance of keeping safe.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a highly effective registered manager in place, who is well supported by her able deputy. This stable management team shares a common vision of wanting the very best for young people. They have been successful in enabling staff to share their high expectations and this has resulted in a strongly young people-centred home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The members of the management team know their young people very well and actively promote effective working relationships both with families and with key professionals. This means that they understand the plans for young people and can help drive them along. These plans and milestones along the way are reflected in young people’s case records.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff regularly receive good supervision, have detailed annual appraisals and feel well supported. They are particularly positive about the quality and frequency of the training opportunities on offer. The effective mix of mandatory and specialist training not only helps to develop staff skills, but also maintains their morale and interest.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an extensive and effective monitoring programme run by the management group and involving all key aspects of the home’s functioning. For example, the registered manager produces monthly incident summaries which are discussed at team meetings. These summaries identify unexpected increases in behaviours and are an effective method of informing changes to young people’s risk assessments and strategies. Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 6 External monitoring of the running of the home is completed appropriately by the monthly visits and subsequent reports of the independent visitor. However, although these reports are sent to Ofsted as required, on occasion they are received so long after the visit to the home that the timescales for appropriate scrutiny and any necessary action have passed.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose is regularly reviewed and gives an accurate representation of the objectives of the home. The home rarely makes notifications about significant events, but on the occasions where these are necessary they are appropriate, timely and reflect good strategies to try and resolve the issue. Local authority colleagues and other professionals are very positive about their contact with the home. One placing social worker said, ‘Their reports are a joy to read and they are very good at all communications.’

p.6

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.

p.6

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: SC037441 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: West Sussex County Council

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Director of Social Services, County Hall, Tower Street, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1QT

p.7

Inspector

Bridget Goddard, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8