Children's Home run by My Choice Children’s Homes Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: SC364812 1 SC364812 Registered provider: My Choice Children’s Homes Ltd 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 five children. There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home was registered with Ofsted in August 2022.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC364812 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/01/2023 Full Good 02/02/2022 Full Good 10/07/2019 Full Good 19/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC364812 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled in the home. Children who have previously shown high-risk behaviours are no longer displaying such behaviours and are on the right path for successful outcomes. This is despite a period of change in the home. There is a new, consistent team of staff who know the children well and set appropriate boundaries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been supported sensitively to move in and out of the home. Children who move into the home are welcomed by staff and the other children already living in the home. Children are given a gift box containing their favourite things, and this helps them to feel at ease. One professional said, ‘The great prep work prior to [name of child] moving in made me feel it was the best move I have done.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to and given opportunities to choose meals and activities through regular meetings and during mealtimes that are enjoyed with staff and each other. Children have trusted relationships with staff, know how to make a complaint and can talk to staff about any worries or concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and well furnished. Children like their bedrooms and enjoy personalising them. Each child’s bedroom reflects an aspect of their personality and their personal interests and hobbies. Children proudly showed the inspector their pictures on their walls and their game consoles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a wide variety of activities, some of which they have never experienced before. These are carefully planned for school holidays, and include going swimming, visiting theme parks and an activity holiday where children enjoyed kayaking and dry slope skiing. There are also a variety of activities in the home, such as baking, trampolining, reading books and playing games. Children are happy to spend time in each other’s company after school. For example, when playing game consoles together, much laughter was heard between children and staff. This gives children a family-like experience and a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with family is a clear focus for staff and is promoted well. Staff show sensitivity when managing and supporting family relationships and work in partnership with families to support what matters most to children. One professional said, ‘Staff go above and beyond to accommodate family time between [name of child] and his family.’

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

The registered manager and staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and ensure that they are working together with other professionals. Incidents are well managed, and necessary actions are taken to ensure that children are safeguarded effectively. The use of physical intervention to manage children’s behaviour does not occur frequently, and the use of consequences is rare. Inspection report for children’s home: SC364812 4 Staff have effective strategies in place to help keep children safe, and these are clearly set out in individual risk assessments, which are reviewed frequently. However, some children use vapes. Although children say that they want to stop, there are missed opportunities to record conversations that they have with staff about vapes and the associated risks. This means that not all staff know what conversations have already occurred and what areas or approaches should be

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

considered next. Consequently, there is an inconsistent approach to ensuring that children fully understand the pressure and risks associated with vaping.

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

The organisation has strong links with health professionals, and this is demonstrated through therapy meetings. Staff respond effectively when children go missing from the home and keep a detailed chronology of events. Following a missing-from-home episode, one therapist supported three children in the home to understand the risks of criminal exploitation. The approach was tailored to meet the individual needs of the children, using videos and activities. Because of this, missing-from-home episodes have reduced.

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

Safe recruitment practices are in place. This ensures that only appropriately vetted individuals work at the home and provide care for children. Senior staff are aware of their responsibilities to ensure that effective health and safety processes are in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has been through an unsettled time, and there have been changes to the children living in the home and the retention of staff. Nevertheless, staff feel positive about the support provided by senior leaders and the registered manager. Staff morale is high, leading to a positive and relaxed feel within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is dedicated and understands the needs of the children and makes decisions that are child focused. He has a detailed knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The home’s independent person provides a good level of external scrutiny and makes helpful suggestions regarding practice development. However, the home’s six-monthly quality report and the home’s development plan do not reflect a clear process to improve or maintain the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have high expectations of staff practice and address poor practice promptly. Staff are given opportunities to develop their skills, and there is good succession planning. Training to support this is good, and senior care staff work towards a level 5 diploma. Team meetings take place regularly. Staff use handovers to discuss each child in detail. This supports a consistent approach for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a thorough induction and training that is tailored to meet the specific needs of the children in the home. However, not all staff receive regular supervision Inspection report for children’s home: SC364812 5 in line with the home’s policy. This means there are missed opportunities for staff to consistently reflect on practice and explore their professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management arrangements in place provide a supportive, collaborative and caring culture in the home for everyone. There is a real sense of teamwork and strong working relationships with staff, who acknowledge difficulties and support each other. This provides a stable team for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Positive partnership working helps to build trust and engagement. Social workers are positive about their working relationships with the registered manager and staff and say that they are kept well informed. One professional said, ‘Staff effectively contribute to exploring options that are in the best interests of [name of child], and they are child focused.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC364812 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, The 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the homes policy reflects vaping.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children are taught about the risks of vaping and that effective measures are in place to support them to understand the risks and support them to stop. 30 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). (Regulation 45 (2)(c) (3))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the registered manager has an action plan to improve the quality of care. 30 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC364812 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff receive regular, practice-related supervision in line with the providers policy. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the Quality Standards, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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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: SC364812 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: My Choice Children’s Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 3a, Mill Green Business Estate, Mill Green Road, Haywards Heath RH16 1XQ

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Inspector

Hannah Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC364812 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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