Children's Home run by Brighton and Hove City Council in Brighton and Hove

Inspection report for children’s home: SC044880 1 SC044880 Registered provider: Brighton & Hove City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides short breaks and longer-term care for children aged between eight and 18. According to its statement of purpose, the children have severe or moderate levels of learning disabilities, as defined in their education, health and care plans.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has two managers who share the registered manager role. They have been registered with Ofsted since 2013 and 2015 respectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC044880 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/06/2021 Full Good 04/02/2020 Full Good 24/07/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC044880 3

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improvement to be good

There are currently two children living together and one young person living in a separate part of the home. The provision is also designed to support up to five children to receive short-break overnight care. On the day of the inspection, one child was visiting for dinner to help build a positive relationship with staff. This helps children work towards their first night away from home.

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improvement to be good

The provision for children and their families to receive short-break care is not operating at full capacity. In February 2023, senior leaders in this local authority commissioned a review of their children’s services, including the arrangements for short breaks. The review considered how many overnight stays children receive. As a result, staff have started to welcome new children into the home. There are plans to offer wider services and overnight stays to more children and their families.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to enjoy leisure activities suited to their interests and preferences. Children living in the home attend weekly swimming lessons, dance classes and surf therapies. Staff proudly share children’s achievements and actively encourage them to succeed. One child recently took part in a theatre dance performance with support from staff. A parent said, ‘I am so proud of my son and all he is achieving living at the home. This is down to the love and commitment of staff.’

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improvement to be good

Staff sensitively support children living in the home to spend quality time with their families. For one child, their relationship with their parents has significantly improved. Staff invest in and support family dinners, outings and attendance at religious services. When concerns arise, staff are quick to escalate these to managers and allocated social workers. This means that children enjoy safe and purposeful time with their loved ones.

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improvement to be good

Children living in the home go to school daily. Key workers attend regular education meetings and receive information on children’s termly targets. These filter into care planning. As a result, staff are clear on their responsibilities in helping children to achieve more. Key workers gain all statutory guidance and plans to support children’s educational progress. Overall, children are settled and happy in their education provisions.

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improvement to be good

Staff are caring for one young person in extreme crisis. This care is exceeding expectations of services provided by this local authority. As a result, senior leaders and the registered managers say they are no longer able to safely care for them. Care provided by staff is under regular review by the Court of Protection, including restrictions of liberties, medical assessments and needed interventions. There have been extensive searches for suitable accommodation; however, these have been unsuccessful in meeting the bespoke and complex needs of this individual. The plan is for the young adult to move into a funded adult health provision in January 2024. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044880 4

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improvement to be good

Staffing levels are carefully assessed to help children receive appropriate support and supervision. This means children are free to safely move around their environment and enjoy activities away from home. Staff proactively support local initiatives and procedures in reducing the risk of children going missing from care. As a result, there have been no missing-from-care incidents since the last full inspection.

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improvement to be good

Staff create individualised risk assessments for children. These provide good details and clear strategies for staff to follow to help reduce risks for children. Staff dynamically assess these risks, providing further guidance when concerns arise and increase. This demonstrates excellent forward planning and means staff are proactively prepared for risk eventualities.

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improvement to be good

Staff keep restrictive practices under close review for children. For one child, this has positivity contributed to a reduction in restrictions when outside of the home. Furthermore, this approach is continually reviewed and assessed in line with children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans. This means children receive highly personalised care that meets their current and emerging needs.

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improvement to be good

The registered managers have good oversight of staff recruitment checks. They have received relevant training and have a clear understanding of safer recruitment practices.

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improvement to be good

Staff training meets the individual needs of children. Registered managers have a good oversight of the training that has been attended by staff and actively plan around their training needs. However, new commissioned health staff for one child do not have the same physical intervention training as full-time staff. This has the potential to hinder safe working practices and continuity of care for the young person.

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good

Since the last full inspection, the registered managers have revised the conditions of registration with Ofsted to reflect the number of children they provide short breaks for at any one time and the number of children who live in the home permanently. This was to accurately reflect the home’s statement of purpose. This updated certificate was correctly on display during this inspection.

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good

Since the last full inspection, the responsible individual and the head of specialist community services for children with disabilities have left this local authority. A new responsible individual has been recruited, and they plan to start this post in July 2023l. The temporary responsible individual plans to supervise the registered manager and visit children and staff regularly. On the day of the inspection, the Inspection report for children’s home: SC044880 5 responsible individual and the assistant director of children’s services attended a staff team meeting. This demonstrates their commitment in hearing the views of staff, promoting team spirit and value.

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good

This service has two registered managers. They are both committed and passionate about the children they care for. Staff and external professionals endorse this view and say the managers go above and beyond in advocating for children. Multi-agency professionals speak highly of staff dedication and say they do a commendable job in supporting the needs of children.

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good

New staff working in the home receive regular supervision from qualified line managers. They are given opportunities to develop their professional understanding through training and reflective practices. Staff supporting one young person are attending additional clinical supervision. This is providing an emotional safe space and promoting critical reflection and support.

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good

Staff write detailed child-focused care plans for children. They include important information about children that helps staff to proactively care for their day-to-day needs. However, written daily notes for one young person do not actively reflect written guidance, for example the activities offered and resources available. This is a missed opportunity for staff to showcase their commitment, hard work and efforts in positively attempting to care for and engage the young person in multi-agency plans. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044880 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications, and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h)) 1 August 2023

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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: SC044880 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Brighton & Hove City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Brighton BN3 3BQ

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Children’s home details

Registered managers: Karen Rusbridge, Victoria Witham

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Inspectors

Kelly Monniot, Social Care Inspector Jane Balfe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC044880 8 regulates and inspects 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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