Children's home run by West Sussex County Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC037447 1 SC037447 Registered provider: West Sussex County Council

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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 is registered to accommodate up to 16 children aged between five and 18 years old who have a learning disability. This is a local authority home that provides short- and long-stay accommodation. A suitably qualified manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2007.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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Outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected Outstanding

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Outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Outstanding

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Outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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Outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC037447 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/01/2019 Full Good 08/08/2017 Full Good 17/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC037447 3

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Recommendations

 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) This is with reference to ensuring that records, such as support plans, are kept up to date.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children thrive at this home. They benefit from excellent support from a staff team that cares deeply for them. ‘She is well loved,’ a parent said. ‘Her progress has been amazing.’ Another parent said, ‘It’s unbelievable, the progress he made here.’ Relationships between the children and staff are caring and respectful. Children are seen to enjoy the company of the staff and seek their reassurance and interaction. Relationships between staff and parents are also trusting and open. Feedback about the effectiveness of care packages and levels of communication between staff and professionals is also glowing. These crucial components lead to a service which is focused on meeting children’s needs and enabling them to fulfil their potential in a loving and caring home. Children’s voices and opinions are valued and promoted. Many depend on augmented forms of communication or have their own unique way of communicating. Staff become

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

aware of how the children communicate their likes and dislikes and make every effort to promote their views. Consequently, children are able to influence decisions on how the home is run. The children also receive support and guidance from members of staff, often in conjunction with schools and therapists in order to help them develop their communication skills. This means that professionals collaborate to promote children’s progress. All children have their social opportunities and experiences enriched and enhanced. Staff promote the idea that children should have fun and appropriate excitement. Carefully thought through activities enable the children to develop their confidence and social skills. As a result, some children have been on holidays with their peers and taken part in activities such as swimming. These are activities that they have never been able to partake in before and which have exceeded their parents’ and professionals’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

expectations. The ‘can do’ attitude displayed by staff ensures that the children thrive. Each child has a bespoke plan which helps them to develop their self-care skills and independence commensurate with their level of understanding and ability. Every step of Inspection report children’s home: SC037447 4 progress, no matter how small, is celebrated and enjoyed. Progress for some, especially when bearing in mind their starting points, is remarkable. Inventive practice requiring significant staff dedication has enabled some children to achieve what has previously been considered impossible. This exemplary support has, for example, enabled children to provide blood samples, crucial to their health planning, for the first time in a number of years. On another occasion, careful planning has prepared a child for a significant operation as an inpatient in a hospital. Careful planning of placements, supported by senior managers in the organisation,

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

means that group dynamics and mixes of children are carefully considered before a child comes to live at this home. The admissions are also completed at a rate and pace with which the child can cope and which also reassures parents. Transition planning and support is of an excellent standard. Attendance at school is supported and promoted. Staff advocate strongly on behalf of their child in order to ensure that they receive the educational opportunities that they have a right to. If a child is without schooling, arrangements are made by the staff team to ensure that this impact is minimised while a solution is sought. Each child’s success at school is celebrated and enjoyed by parents as well as staff.

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

Children’s safety and well-being are of the utmost priority in this home. Staff work diligently to ensure that their children are not only kept safe but also have opportunities to develop their life experiences and take calculated risks. Staff, who are not risk averse, ensure that children are able to take part in activities and experiences in the wider world. This approach helps children to develop confidence and self-esteem. All members of staff are trained in safeguarding matters. They know what to do and who to tell if they have concerns about a child’s well-being. They follow this process effectively in practice. Professionals are complimentary about the quality and speed of communication. Consequently, any issues can be addressed promptly and action plans put in place to safeguard children’s safety. Any incidents are examined and assessed by managers. Strategies and support plans are amended and updated if necessary. This ensures that similar issues can be avoided, and

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

that children are supported to cope with, and develop strategies for, different challenges and situations. This sensitive and careful approach has enabled children to learn to cope with change and develop their tolerance and coping skills. The conscientious and diligent support means that some children have achieved beyond expectations. For example, some children are able to partake in community activities and mix with peers without exhibiting distress or anxious behaviour, often for the first time in their lives. The recruitment process operated by the home ensures that only adults with appropriate background checks and working histories are employed. Visitors are closely monitored when on site. Anyone who is not known or recognised are challenged to explain the reason they are there. This awareness and thoroughness further underpins the ethos embedded in the home of ensuring that everyone is safe and accountable.

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

Inspection report children’s home: SC037447 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has high aspirations and expectations for members of staff as well as the children. This ambition to drive forward is shared by everyone and leads to a culture where success, no matter how minor, is celebrated and enjoyed. The staff are very motivated and look to expand children’s experiences and achievements. They advocate strongly on behalf of the children and take pride in their successes. Changes to the staff team, mainly through redeployment of staff from other homes, have been welcomed and seen as an opportunity to share knowledge and practice. Comments, compliments and complaints from parents and professionals are welcomed and seen as opportunities to learn and improve. This ensures transparency and prevents complacency. Plans for children are detailed and outline very clearly how staff are to support and enable them to progress. Consistency and close working with parents and professionals

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

mean that each child’s care is a thoughtfully prepared process which nurtures and enables the children to develop and fulfil their potential. Staff knowledge of children’s strengths, anxieties and behaviours means that transition planning is an exemplar. Children moving on to new homes receive support of the highest standard. Managers from the homes that the children have moved to, as well as parents of the children concerned, sing the praises of the staff’s commitment and eye for detail. All members of staff receive regular supervision which enables them to reflect on their practice and their effectiveness in their roles. Staff also receive regular training which ensures that they have the knowledge and skills to provide an excellent standard of care. Records are, overall, of good quality. On one occasion, a support plan outlining how information is to be shared with parents had not been updated promptly. This

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

information was elsewhere in the records, and the shortfall had no impact on the well- being of the 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 Inspection report children’s home: SC037447 6 children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC037447 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: West Sussex County Council, County Hall, West Street, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1RQ

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Inspector

Paul Taylor, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC037447 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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