Children's Home run by My Choice Children’s Homes Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report children’s home: SC359832 1 SC359832 Registered provider: My Choice Children’s Homes Ltd

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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 home provides care for up to three children who may have a range of needs such as mental health issues, learning difficulties, self-harm and/or minor physical difficulties. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 8 September 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 11 to 12 December 2018

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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 outstanding

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC359832 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/07/2017 Full Good 23/01/2017 Full Good 30/08/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC359832 3

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Recommendations

 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. The Statement of Purpose is an important document in the process of care planning as it sets out the needs of children the home is set up and equipped to care for. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.4) In particular, the registered person should ensure that any impact assessments completed before a child arrives reflect all detail in a local authority’s referral information.  Significant changes to a looked-after child’s care, such as a change of placement, should only take place following a statutory review of their care plan chaired by their Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO). The child should be

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Recommendations

actively involved in these important meetings and supported to express their views, wishes and feelings. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.10) In particular, the registered person should ensure that if a child’s healthcare needs require monitoring the staff are provided with clear guidance on what they are expected to do.  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) In particular, the registered person should ensure that risk assessment records

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Recommendations

cover all known risks. The registered person should also check that records always show any learning from how incidents have been managed, and how this will be taken forward.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they like living here. Two children scored the home as seven and eight out of 10. One child said the only thing that would make it better was ‘if it was not in the Inspection report children’s home: SC359832 4 middle of the country’. One professional commented that he could see ‘dramatic improvements’ in a child’s behaviour since coming here: at the time of inspection, the child had lived here for two months.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build good relationships with children and they effectively rebuild relationships where these are showing signs of deteriorating. This results in children having confidence in staff. It helps to prevent difficulties escalating and supports the staff to understand children better and to respond positively to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers assess a child’s needs before deciding if the child should come to live here. Impact assessments do not always record how all issues which are identified in local authority referrals, such as bullying, affect their decision. However, the manager can describe how this is done and how this is taken into account in the child’s care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Well-coordinated approaches to children’s well-being and healthcare help them to thrive. Staff identify children’s healthcare needs well, get the right help for them and work effectively with health professionals. The staff receive regular support from therapists that helps them to work out which are the best strategies to adopt with a child. They also make sure that safety plans are in place if needed, so that there are coordinated responses to a child’s mental health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Meals and menus are varied, reflect children’s likes and dislikes and promote healthy eating. In one instance the staff were monitoring a child’s food intake, but this was not detailed in the child’s care plan and daily records did not demonstrate that this systematically occurred each day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s engagement in their education, and enjoyment of life, are promoted well. One social worker was particularly impressed with the staff’s commitment to getting a child into school when they arrived. She was also very positive about staff’s understanding of how to support the child to do this. The results are that the child’s introduction to school is working well. Children’s interests are quickly identified, and relevant clubs and groups found. All the children are involved in clubs in the community and this helps them to develop friendships in the area, which creates a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff listen to children carefully and provide a range of opportunities for the children to say what they think. Children chair their weekly group meetings and talk about the things which matter to them. However, sometimes minutes do not record how each question a child raises is responded to. The minutes are not always quickly circulated. The manager acknowledges that, due to staff absence in the last few months, the records have not always been completed quickly and is working to improve this. She recognises that this helps to show children that their views are valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s contact with their families is promoted well. One parent was very positive about input she has had into her child’s care since her arrival at the home and appreciated the staff’s welcoming and inclusive attitude towards her.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are mindful of the impact that leaving the home has on a child, especially when Inspection report children’s home: SC359832 5 they leave unexpectedly, and make every effort to ensure that children experience a positive ending even if children leave under difficult circumstances.

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

Children said that they feel safe here. When safeguarding concerns have occurred, the staff manage these well and report concerns promptly. The staff confidently challenge each other’s practice. Professionals said that children’s risk-taking behaviours quickly decrease because of the staff’s care and support. For example, children go missing, and self-harm, less often. Following an episode of a child being missing from the home staff work collaboratively with the child to find solutions, to reduce the behaviour, which they can accept and abide with.

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

Risk assessment forms a part of staff’s everyday thinking but is not always recorded in paperwork. For example, one child did not have a risk assessment about bullying where this had been an issue in the recent past. In one instance, staff assessed the risk well about a child’s contact with his sister after a difficult day at school. The staff identified and planned how to minimise any risks for both children well. This resulted in both children having positive time together in a safe way.

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

The staff carefully plan how to support children to behave well so that they can reduce the likelihood that children’s behaviours escalate. This is effective. Only one sanction has occurred in 18 months. However, staff frequently use restorative justice appropriately to manage difficult behaviours. For instance, on the day of the inspection a child cleared up the mess he made from throwing fruit.

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

Restraint occurs very infrequently. The registered manager has recently reviewed how staff record physical interventions. She is taking action to ensure that staff complete appropriate records and can understand when a physical intervention/restraint form needs to be completed. The manager is also considering how to explain to children what types of holds staff may use.

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

When one-to-one discussions between staff and children are recorded, the records are good. However, these discussions are not always recorded. This is a missed opportunity to demonstrate the level of work completed and the progress children are making. The manager is aware and intends to make this a focus for improvement over the next few months.

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

Learning from incidents that occur is not always recorded. Staff can explain the lessons they have learned, but records are not always completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager provides excellent leadership. She has steered the home well through difficult circumstances, keeping the staff positive and focused on children’s needs. She:  acts as a strong role model for staff Inspection report children’s home: SC359832 6  knows the home’s strengths and weaknesses well. She is aware of the gaps in recording and is rectifying these  has a clear vision of what she wants to achieve  plans effectively to develop the services provided and enhance her own training and understanding to achieve her vision for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Quality assurance systems are well embedded within the home’s practice. The six- monthly report that the registered manager completes about the quality of care is evaluative and reflective. The report identifies positives and negatives and uses outside views to reflect on the findings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The monthly visits to the home by an independent person are effective and provide a good synopsis of what is occurring at the home. The reports effectively identify areas for improvement and are used well by the registered manager to improve services.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Having sufficient numbers of staff has proved more challenging than usual over the last few months, due to unforeseen circumstances. This has recently improved, and the manager is focused on bringing the team together so that its members work cohesively. She is fully aware of the impact this has had on ensuring that paperwork is up to date and she has planned how to quickly rectify any omissions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a very full training programme which makes a positive difference to practice. Recently, the organisation has employed a new NVQ assessor who has decreased the time that the staff are taking to complete their qualifications, as well as improving results. The staff consider that the regular therapeutic training and in-house support helps them to improve their care of children and increases their ability to think about how to enhance their practice. For example, one member of staff reflected well on what they could improve about the support they give to children after they move in, following a discussion with a child about sanitary bins.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Relationships with other professionals are very positive. The staff work very well with other agencies but challenge them when children’s best interests are not served by the decisions being made. Professionals spoke highly of their contact with the staff and were confident about how the manager would deal with concerns if things went wrong.

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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: SC359832 7 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

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Information about this inspection

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: SC359832 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: My Choice Children’s Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 3a, Mill Green Business Estate, Mill Green Road, Haywards Heath RH16 1XQ

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Inspector

Ruth Coler, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC359832 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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