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 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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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.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 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 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: 16 October 2018

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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: SC037441 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/10/2018 Full Good 31/01/2018 Full Good 03/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of individualised care young people receive has a significant impact on the overall progress they make . Successful placements are the result of the careful and considered planning that takes place prior to the young people being admitted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people build warm and trusted relationships with the adults who look after them. The staff place the well-being of the young people at the centre of their practice and enjoy the time they spend with the young people. They treat each young person with dignity and respect. The inspectors observed a member of staff returning from a few weeks off work greeting a young person returning from school with joy and mutual happiness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people’s health needs are a priority. Young people have access to local health services. The staff have effective working relationships with these professionals. The young people are encouraged and supported to improve their self-care skills. This includes a focus on hygiene and domestic skills. For some young people, they learn to make their own healthy breakfast and daily packed lunches. For one young person, it is about becoming more independent when visiting the local barber.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consents for the administration of non-prescribed medicines are not always gained. With the introduction of a new medicines policy, staff are now directed to gain this consent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the young people to develop their independence irrespective of any disability they have. Following careful planning, one young person has his own set of keys to the home. This allows him to use external doors independently. He also supports staff with testing the fire alarm each week.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key workers support the young people to communicate their wishes and feelings. They take part in the day-to-day running of the home. The young people attend monthly house meetings. These enable the young people to discuss personal matters and issues relating to the wider community. In addition, the young people have access to an independent visitor who will raise any issues on their behalf and supports them to access the local community. An area of outstanding achievement for one young person is that he participates in the West Sussex young people’s forum. He is the first and only young person with a disability to do so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Families and professionals, who were spoken to during this inspection, acknowledge the high standard of support the staff deliver to the young people and their families. One parent said, ‘My child is happy. He always looks smart and his behaviour has got much better.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people attend school and are making good progress with their learning. The staff show ambition for learning and help the young people to value education. The staff are highly effective in liaising with school staff. The registered manager Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 4 challenges education colleagues when appropriate. She has liaised with one school in relation to sensory work undertaken with a particular young person. A teacher said, ‘The manager is excellent at sharing strategies and advising us.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The current negotiations and commitment about the future development of the service will provide extra living space, an additional bedroom and additional sensory equipment that will further enhance all of the young people’s lives. Recent upgrades of a ground floor wet room and soon to be replaced bedroom and hall flooring show the ongoing commitment to provide a good environmental standard.

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

The young people are kept safe by the staff, who are trained to identify concerns and risks. They are acutely aware of the increased vulnerabilities of the young people and how they manage risks in the home and in the community. Through close supervision and committed enthusiastic staff, the young people have a sense of safety, protection and trust in the staff who care for them. The staff are risk aware. However, they are not risk averse, in particular in relation to supporting independence programmes.

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

The young people are supervised according to their needs, abilities and cognitive understanding. They do not have the chance to go missing due to their close supervision. However, the staff are aware of the missing from home policy and procedures to follow, if necessary. The young people do not have unsupervised access to the internet, which means risks are decreased.

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

The staff understand children’s different ways of communicating, both verbal and non-verbal. They know when a child is relaxed or getting anxious. When needed, the staff use safe and effective de-escalation methods and creative strategies in preventing escalation of challenging behaviours. For their own safety or for that of others, the staff may use a physical intervention. Practice of physical intervention is always minimal in its use and recorded. All the staff receive accredited training in restraint techniques.

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

The staff undertake regular health and safety checks, supported by external service checks. The fire safety measures meet the regulations in so far as adhering to expert advice. However, a recent expert audit (external fire company) failed to identify a potential fire risk. This was identified during the inspection, by an inspector, and was acted on immediately by the registered manager and a senior leader. The senior leader has communicated with the external expert and an immediate revisit is planned. The inspectors deemed suitable action was taken in a very timely manner once this had been identified.

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

Recruitment procedures are robust and meet the required standard. This means that the young people are cared for by adults who have been properly checked and have gone through a robust selection process. Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has suitable experience and qualifications to fulfil her role. She has an excellent understanding of the young people’s needs, with a clear focus on the young people’s participation and rights. In the past year, she has focused on the service’s development plan. She is supported by an effective deputy manager and a team of passionate and committed staff. The staff who spoke to the inspectors during this inspection were all very positive about their roles and the management of the home. However, this conflicts with a small number of staff surveys received by the regulator prior to this inspection. The registered manager stated she will review and consider all the areas raised in the staff surveys, as discussed with the inspectors.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive comprehensive mandatory and bespoke training. The staff have access to the newly introduced training pathway programme. Training can be delivered face-to-face and online. The staff are complimentary about the wide- ranging training they receive. All staff receive effective and timely supervision that enhances staff’s competence and confidence to fulfil their roles skilfully.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has excellent relationships with a wide range of professionals. Without exception, feedback from educators and social workers is highly complimentary about the care and the management of the home and the impact on the young people’s lives this service continues to deliver. The registered manager will challenge when necessary, as demonstrated in the transition planning for the young people who have moved on since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, investigations are carried out in a very suitable manner with action taken in response to lessons learned where indicated. However, the process for investigating medication errors has not been fully effective and has, on one occasion, failed to lead to refresher training identified for a staff member. A new medication error process has been recently introduced to better enable oversight and evaluation by the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records are kept securely and in general are very well maintained. However, a small number of the records that inspectors viewed were found to need improvement, for example the wrong name on an education, health and care plan (EHCP) and a lost daily record sheet. Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 6

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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 registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that records (specifically the daily logs) are not lost and EHCPs refer to the correct child. 30/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue service authority, the registered person must— take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that fire audits and assessments are undertake by competent external experts and are detailed and fully comprehensive so they identify potential risks. 30/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff receive refresher training when indicated as a result of investigations. 30/04/2020

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Recommendations

 Each child should have permission for staff to administer first aid and non- prescription medication from a person with parental responsibility for them recorded in their relevant plan. For looked after children, this permission should be sought and arranged by the child’s social worker. Where appropriate, the child’s family should be involved in supporting their child’s health needs as well as in providing permission for treatment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.14) In particular, ensure that consents for non-prescription medication are gained. Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: West Sussex County Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Liz Driver, Social Care Inspector Paul Thomas, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC037441 9 to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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