Children's Home run by Child First Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 1 SC044259 Registered provider: Child First Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home uses the ‘Lovin’ Care’ model of care. The home provides care for up to five children who have had difficulties with family relationships and dynamics and have experienced significant trauma in their lives.

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Information about this children’s home

As part of the model of care, the staff use language that is not institutional. Staff are referred to by each other and the children as ‘adults’. Key-work sessions and meetings are called ‘catch-ups’, and this is reflected in the report.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2019.

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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

Date of last inspection: 2 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/02/2022 Full Outstanding 18/06/2019 Full Good 02/05/2018 Full Good 12/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences and feel valued in the home. Adults show care and dedication to their children. However, children’s progress in areas such as their education has not been as positive as that seen at the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have joined the home and one child has moved on. The child moved to another home which could better manage their needs, following ineffective planning at this home and changes to educational arrangements. The manager reflected on this and now ensures that the admissions process is closely followed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have education arrangements in place and do attend. However, some children have shortened sessions as they continue to build their confidence to attend school and college for longer. Adults support the children to engage in learning opportunities during the day. However, this is not always structured, meaning that children are unclear about their plans for the day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can explore their interests and adults ensure that activities are centred around these. For example, children enjoy motorsports, and adults have arranged trips to local go-kart tracks. In addition, one of the living areas has games consoles playing car simulator games which the children play often with adults and each other. One child celebrated their birthday with a trip to Silverstone to watch a grand prix race, in a once-in-a-lifetime experience which made the child feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel the adults care about them. They feel they are listened to and adults act on their wishes. Children use house catch-ups and individual catch-ups to share their views and make suggestions on things to do. Adults act on these wishes and children have been able to spend time with family, have new experiences and plan for their futures. One child who is leaving the home soon spoke positively about the care and love they had been given while at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s families and social workers were positive about the care children were receiving. They praised the communication from adults, the proactive approach adults take to enable children to see their families and how well the children and adults get along with one another in the house. The mother of one child, who was preparing for moving to independent living spoke of her child being sad about leaving but said they had made significant progress while at the home.

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

Since the last inspection the adults have struggled to manage children’s presenting behaviours and their risks. However, since one child moved on, there have been no further incidents. The records of incidents are thorough and show that children and adults are helped to reflect on incidents and how they are managed. When adults Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 4 needed to physically intervene to manage behaviour, holds were proportionate and helped to inform adults about strategies to use to prevent future incidents. Adults creatively installed a climbing wall to support children who used furniture in the home to climb.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home are low. Since the last inspection, there have only been two reports of children going missing. On both occasions, adults searched for the children and ensured they were supported on their return. However, after one incident, adults did not fully explore all available information, such as information from school and friends which would help to inform a more robust response should a repeat incident occur.

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

Adults know their children and know how to keep them safe. Adults feel well equipped through induction and training to ensure that they have the skills needed. Regular adults catch-ups and supervisions help adults to reflect on their knowledge and identify any gaps, which are quickly addressed through training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has excellent oversight of the home. The manager knows the children well and children feel comfortable in her presence. Regular chats and catch-ups with children have given the manager inspiration to ensure that adults give the children the opportunities and resources to help them explore their interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager acts as a role model in implementing the home’s model of care. Adults new to the home are trained in the model and the manager ensures that institutional language does not creep into their vocabulary. The adults talk with pride about how this changed the atmosphere in the home and reflect on how this has helped children to settle into the home and feel comfortable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has also created strong relationships with social workers and parents. This has helped to ensure that decisions in relation to children’s requests or needs are responded to quickly, and that children’s plans are reviewed regularly as a result. Parents and social workers were positive about the communication from adults and the progress their children were making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Adults are positive about the support they receive from their manager. Through recruitment to induction, regular training and catch-ups, the adults feel equipped and supported to deliver the best care possible to their children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager also feels valued and supported by the responsible individual. The responsible individual is a frequent visitor to the house and children know them well. The independent visitor also challenges the manager to improve further, and this has helped shape improvements in the home, including in record-keeping and helping children to make progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure the necessary support is given to children to enable them to access their education or training. Specifically, ensure that each child has a structured educational plan for their day and they understand their plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.13)  The registered person should ensure that when there is a possibility that a child may go missing from the children’s home, their placement plan should include a strategy to minimise this risk. This plan should include input from external professionals who can help inform a response. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.24)

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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: SC044259 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Child First Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 62 The Street, Rustington, West Sussex BN16 3RN

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Inspector

Matt Nicholls, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 7 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 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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