Children's Home, Residential special school run by Mayne Enterprises Limited in East Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: SC413992 1 SC413992 Registered provider: Mayne Enterprises Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and run by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to 11 children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care for children who experience emotional and behavioural difficulties. The children attend the organisation’s school on the same site.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2013.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 24 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: 27 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC413992 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/06/2019 Full Good 03/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC413992 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience well-planned care from staff who are committed to building and maintaining positive relationships with them. Interactions between children and staff are warm and nurturing. This makes children feel secure and cared for, which enables them to make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are adept at noticing and rewarding children when they achieve something which may seem small, but which is significant for them. A staff member spoke with pride when they described the progress of one child in particular. When the child moved into the home, he experienced severe anxiety in social situations. The child is now a member of a local drama group which he attends independently. The careful support children receive gives them the confidence to expand their interests and achieve goals which are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are encouraged to work therapeutically with children. This enables children to make good progress in relation to their emotional well-being. The social worker for one child told the inspector that the staff team’s care of the child has been ‘spot on’. The child arrived with a history of aggressive behaviour towards adults. He has been helped to manage his feelings and the frequency of incidents has steadily reduced. As a result, the child has been able to spend increasing amounts of time with his family. The child is now working towards having overnight stays at home. An inclusive approach supports children to maintain positive relationships with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children speak confidently about their education and career goals. However, children report that they are struggling to come to terms with some recent changes at the on-site school. This is having a detrimental effect on children’s enthusiasm for attending school. Managers are aware and are working with the organisation’s education team to address the concerns which the children have raised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Working closely with other professionals is given high priority. A new system for communicating with children’s placing authorities has been introduced. Children’s social workers now receive a weekly update which is a collation of the daily recordings completed by staff. Social workers report that information-sharing has improved since the system was introduced. This demonstrates managers’ commitment to ensuring effective and open communication.

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

Safeguarding children is a priority. Staff are attuned and responsive to the risks that are present for children individually and as a group.

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

Managers have invested time and energy in making sure that the physical environment remains safe and secure during the building work which is being Inspection report for children’s home: SC413992 4 carried out to refurbish the home. Children have been given the opportunity to have a say in the way the home will be decorated. This gives children a sense of ownership and pride in their surroundings.

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

Due to the positive relationships enjoyed between children and staff, incidents which require physical restraint are rare. When they do occur, the registered manager carries out a thorough review with the children and staff involved to explore what happened and to look at ways to reduce the risk of further incidents occurring.

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

Children are empowered to have a view about how their own risks are managed. One child said to the inspector, ‘I used to go missing a lot when I first came here. Staff taught me how to travel safely. They trust me to go out by myself now and I don’t go missing any more.’ Children become increasingly safe, while having a positive experience of care.

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

Managers recognise the importance of learning from safeguarding incidents. They carry out thorough investigations, involving external safeguarding agencies when necessary. They ensure that any learning from incidents is shared with the wider staff team. This responsive approach reduces the risk that potentially harmful situations will reoccur.

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

The registered manager is in the process of updating children’s placement plans and individual risk assessments. This is to ensure that they are written in the format used by the organisation’s other homes. In the interim, some documents do not provide staff with key information, such as dates of significant events and progress towards children’s individual targets. Additionally, they fail to provide staff with strategies to reduce risk or practical steps to take if risks arise. As a result, placement plans and risk assessments do not reliably inform staff how to care for children and keep them safe. In practice, staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and know how to meet their needs.

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

Safe recruitment practices are understood and implemented by the manager and the staff responsible for this area of practice. This reduces the potential for unsuitable adults to be employed at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have acknowledged the challenges that the home has recently faced. The change of ownership of the home, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the building renovations have all had a negative impact on staff morale. The registered manager has worked tirelessly to ensure that the children have continued to receive good- quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has sound awareness of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. He is passionate in his efforts to be a trusted figure for the children and he has high aspirations for what children can achieve. This makes the manager a good role model for the staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC413992 5 The independent person provides a rigorous level of scrutiny. The manager makes good use of the independent person’s reports and of his own review of the quality of care provided to children. This means that the registered manager has a well- rounded view of the experiences of the children and the impact that the care is having on their outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, several care staff have resigned. Managers are actively recruiting to fill care staff vacancies. In the interim, managers fill rota gaps themselves or with staff who know the children well. This ensures there is no negative impact on the quality of care the children receive. However, staff availability has had a negative impact on continuing professional development. As a result, some staff have not had up-to-date training with regard to how to meet children’s individual needs. In practice, staff know the children well and provide good care that meets their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager promotes a strong ethos of treating children with dignity and respect. In one example, a child is being sensitively supported to understand more about their sexual identity. Another child is being helped to learn about their cultural heritage. Sensitive support enables children to engage in meaningful discussions which allow them to explore their identity at their own pace. An inclusive culture which promotes equality and diversity enables children to explore their developing sense of identity and to be happy as themselves. Inspection report for children’s home: SC413992 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring that children’s risk assessments and placement plans contain the required detail to reliably inform staff how to care for children and keep them safe. 28 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 28 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)) 28 February 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC413992 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 for children’s home: SC413992 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Mayne Enterprises Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Rayns Way, Syston, Leicester LE7 1PF

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Inspector

Helen Simmons, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC413992 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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