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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC029865 1 SC029865 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 children’s home is privately owned. It provides care for up to four children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties or learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, there were four children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2023

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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: 7 February 2023

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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: SC029865 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2023 Full Good 12/01/2022 Full Good 13/08/2019 Full Good 30/10/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC029865 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting and positive relationships with staff that know them well. Staff support the children to manage personal matters. Children have full confidence that information shared with staff is managed discreetly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to the home’s therapist to support their emotional and psychological well-being. When needed, staff support the children during their therapy sessions, and identify targets to enable ongoing encouragement and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have strong links with health and medical professionals to support children’s ongoing needs, which have informed their practice in managing the health needs of the children within their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are either up to date with, or booked on to, mandatory training. Training and development are valued by staff to equip them in meeting the needs of the children in the home. Staff have opportunities to meet with medical specialists, furthering their understanding to manage children’s specific health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a comfortable, well-furnished home where games, toys and books are enjoyed by the children. Children have chosen the decor in their bedrooms which reflects their personalities and individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to and their views are valued. Children’s meetings provide a space for children to choose weekly activities and daily meals. Children are involved in how the home looks and this is evident by the children’s beautiful artwork displayed around the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered a good choice of activities and a weekly planner reflects these. The registered manager has built a good relationship with the children and goes above and beyond to reaffirm those relationships by spending individual time with the children. For example, the registered manager goes to the gym every week with one child and prepares a nice breakfast to encourage another child to get up and go to school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported and nurtured to remain engaged in their hobbies such as football and painting, enabling children to have positive outlets. The wider organisation provides events and holidays throughout the year, which children enjoy. One child is proud of their trophy awarded during a holiday for positive behaviour.

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

Staff are proactive in responding to children who go missing from home and work with appropriate professionals to ensure the children’s safety. As a result of well- Inspection report for children’s home: SC029865 4 coordinated responses from staff and the wider networks, missing-from-home episodes have reduced.

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

Staff know and understand the processes for reporting safeguarding concerns. Staff respond well to children when they need support and incidents are managed effectively. This is evident with the reduction in physical interventions, and consequences are rarely used.

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

Staff’s knowledge of children’s individual vulnerabilities is good. Individual risk management plans are used to inform practice in the home. However, one risk assessment was not updated in a timely manner and records to support the children to understand risks posed during incidents are not always followed up. This has led to missed opportunities for staff and children to learn and prevent the reoccurrence of some incidents.

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

Good 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 registered manager was not available during the inspection and therefore the inspection took place with senior leaders and the deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are passionate about, and know the strengths and weaknesses of, the home. They have an action plan in place for the home that identifies areas of development to improve the quality of care provided to children. For example, a gap was identified within the staff team’s practice in recording key- work sessions, and a workshop was held which focused on improving key-work records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and staff work effectively in partnership with external professionals. Feedback from external professionals, such as therapists and social workers, is positive in areas of communication and partnership working. One social worker said, ‘We meet often to discuss some of the concerns surrounding [name of child], and staff are always available to provide updates.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior staff model good practice to ensure that there is a shared ethos and that children are cared for consistently in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Staff feel positive about the support provided by the registered manager and senior staff. One staff member said, ‘I feel so supported in every area of practice: training, skills, knowledge, and my emotional well-being.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are cared for by skilled staff. Senior leaders have identified areas where staff require additional support to further their knowledge and confidence. There are effective discussions in team meetings regarding children’s behaviours, their past Inspection report for children’s home: SC029865 5 experiences and known risks. This helps to strengthen the staff’s understanding and ensures a consistent response to caring for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC029865 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, to ensure that the registered person has oversight of debriefs and key-work records to support children to understand risks, to prevent reoccurrence. Also, to ensure that risk management plans are updated in a timely manner. 26 January 2024

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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: SC029865 7

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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: My Choice Childrens Homes Ltd, Unit 3a, Mill Green Business Estate, Mill Green Road, Haywards Heath RH16 1XQ

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Inspectors

Karen Flanagan de Martinez, Social Care Inspector Hannah Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC029865 8 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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