Children's Home run by Crusoe Care Limited in East Sussex

Inspection report children's home: SC434573 1 SC434573 Registered provider: Crusoe Care Limited 06843979

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is registered to provide care for up to two children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. It is owned and run by a private organisation. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The registered manager has been in post since August 2011.

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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 requires improvement to be 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 children's home: SC434573 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2023 Full Good 13/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/03/2022 Full Good 17/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC434573 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive and meaningful relationships with staff. These relationships help children to feel confident to talk about their needs and views, and to explore who they want to be.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress. One child has been able to start travelling independently in the community, enabling them to go to college and pursue their own interests. Another child has taken more responsibility for the tidiness of their bedroom, attending community activities and cooking meals, which has led to an interest in potentially pursuing a career in catering in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are guided to provide good quality care through a range of plans and assessments that help them to understand the needs of each child. Where staff feel they need additional support and guidance, managers have worked closely with specialist professionals, such as gender identity clinics or health services, to access guidance and resources that better inform these plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals report close working relationships with staff and have confidence in their ability to care for the children well. These relationships are built on effective, regular communication that keeps professions updated on the needs of the children. Where managers have felt there is a need for greater involvement from professionals, or additional resources, this has been effectively and appropriately challenged.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well listened to. They have lots of opportunities to talk about their ideas for the home and activities that they would like to try. Regular children’s meetings provide further opportunity for the children to share their views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy access to a range of activities that enable them to further develop their own interests, to have fun and to increase their social confidence. One child enjoys attending local youth clubs that have enabled them to develop some friendships. Another child, has recently been able to go to the cinema alone for the first time, which they really enjoyed.

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

Children are settled, feel safe, have positive relationships with staff and are happy in the home. As a result, children do not go missing from home.

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

Staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe. When concerns do arise, they take appropriate action, working closely with the children’s wider professional network, to make sure the children get the support that they need to stay safe. Inspection report children's home: SC434573 4 Staff are skilled in supporting children when they experience difficult feelings. They respond to incidents quickly and effectively, supporting children to reflect and find more appropriate ways to deal with conflict. As a result, there have been no incidents where physical restraint has been used.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks and vulnerabilities that children have. They are guided by a range of relevant assessments that help them to keep children safe, which are reviewed regularly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have worked hard to ensure that the safer recruitment of staff has been improved since the last inspection in June 23. However, managers have not appropriately verified the reasons for staff leaving other relevant roles and one staff member started employment before a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check had been completed. This has not had an impact on the safety of children due to the staff member not working unsupervised in the home and other relevant checks being completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff benefit from a range of training and regular supervisions that enable them to reflect on their own practice and feel more confident in their roles. However, staff have not had annual appraisals and one staff has not had appropriate safeguarding training. In addition, the homes workforce development plan is incomplete and contains outdated information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has a clear vision for the home and is passionate about the children's futures. They have a good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses, and are keen to work with partner agencies to secure important opportunities for children, such as accessing mainstream college.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have ensured that previous requirements have been addressed and have sought to improve their practices through improved monitoring and oversight. At times, the roles and responsibilities of managers are unclear, which has led to gaps in systems being monitored and updated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have a good understanding of the progress that children are making and rightly acknowledge this in a meaningful way. They also take action to challenge barriers to children accessing services. For example, the manager is working with other agencies to ensure the correct level of therapeutic support is in place for one child who is exploring their identity. Inspection report children's home: SC434573 5

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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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2; (Regulation 32 (1)(3)(d)(7)(b)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff do not work in the home until they have received a clear and suitable DBS check. 31 August 2024

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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;

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(c)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all staff undertake relevant training to enable them to understand their roles in safeguarding children, and all staff must have their performance appraised at least annually. 31 August 2024 Inspection report children's home: SC434573 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should be updated regularly to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including that of the home's manager. (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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 children's home: SC434573 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Crusoe Care Limited 06843979

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Crusoe Care Limited of 25 Clinton Place, Seaford, East Sussex BN25 1NP

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Timothy McIlwaine

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Inspectors

Jay Shekleton, social care inspector Shirin White, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC434573 8 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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