Children's Home run by The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd in West Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: 1246834 1 Registered provider: The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is part of an independent children’s therapeutic community which is accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, five children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Staff are referred to as adults throughout the report.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2012.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1246834 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2023 Full Good 14/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/03/2022 Full Good 29/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1246834 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are provided with exceptional care and flourish in the home. There is a strong sense of community in which children share positive relationships, not only with each other but also with adults, who they build strong and trusting relationships with. Children feel valued and thrive as a result. Children are always kept in mind even when the adults caring for them are away from the home. For example, one child held their link worker’s soft toy to know that they were still thinking about them while on holiday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make significant progress. This is because of the joined up working across the community. Children have time to talk about their day and any worries that they may have. This has a positive impact on children’s lives and helps them achieve the best possible outcomes. Children love living in the home. One child said, ‘Living at the home is like Christmas, I like it lots.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Photos of the children enjoying activities are displayed throughout the home and in beautiful scrapbooks. These are given to the children when they move on from the home. All children move on from the home in a positive and planned way. Anniversaries are celebrated with thoughtfulness and memories are shared with an evening of celebration and special food. This helps children to feel positive about themselves and remember their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is welcoming and cosy. The design is child-centred and gives the children places to spend time together or apart as they wish. Adults talk proudly about the home and how they have made it as welcoming as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are cared for by a dedicated and stable team. Adults are highly skilled and sensitive to the specific needs of each child. Adults work closely with other professionals from a range of agencies. Children’s views are sought regularly, and this is a strength of the home. Their views are highly valued and inform the care that they receive. Adults listen to the children and advocate for them when this is required. This ensures that the children’s best interests are at the forefront of all decision-making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are well supported with their education. All children enjoy school and the experiences that they have. One child was proud of their achievements and told the inspector how they had learned to build and light fires. Children’s achievements are celebrated and rewarded every day. This makes children feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have ample opportunities to join in with a range of activities in the home and the local community. This allows children to have fun with their friends. The annual holiday is a highlight for all children, spending time together, and finishing the holiday with a trip to a theme park. Inspection report for children’s home: 1246834 4

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

Leaders, managers and adults understand their safeguarding responsibilities and ensure that they work together with the professional network around the children. Incidents are managed extremely well, and necessary actions are taken to ensure that children are safeguarded effectively, and subsequently supported to reduce further risks.

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

Adults are confident in their understanding of children’s risks and manage them meticulously by supporting children to understand the dangers and the impact of different actions. Physical interventions to manage children’s behaviour are used. However, the detailed analysis of these incidents supports leaders and managers to understand the needs of the children and inform staff practice. Furthermore, discussion in meetings supports adults to monitor patterns and trends and reduce incidents.

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

Incident records are thorough, with clear management oversight. Children are encouraged to talk about their feelings and what may have led to any incident. Children are supported to reflect in a variety of ways, and adults thoroughly consider ways to reduce children’s anxieties. This ensures that children are being looked after well and can succeed as a result.

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

Strategies to help keep children safe are clearly set out in individual risk assessments and incorporated into behaviour support plans, which are reviewed frequently. Furthermore, children are supported to identify their own behaviours and triggers and share their views about how adults can support them better.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is currently a transitional period between the registered manager moving to take a more strategic role within the community, and a new home manager taking over. The new manager is exceptional and knows the children extremely well. She is respected by all who work with her. She displays unwavering passion for providing the best possible care for children and this influences the adults in the home. Adults are proud of their contribution towards helping children to thrive and flourish.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are enthusiastic and passionate about the quality of care provided to children and they know the strengths and weaknesses of the home exceptionally well. They have an effective development plan that identifies relevant actions to improve the quality of care provided to children even further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children are cared for consistently in line with the home’s ethos and statement of purpose. The routines for children are consistently in place to ensure that children progress. The manager and adults have highly valued relationships with other professionals. There is a strong commitment and an aspirational approach to caring for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Adults consistently say that they are very well supported by the manager and enjoy working in the home. One adult said, ‘I am supported each and every day by my Inspection report for children’s home: 1246834 5 manager and deputy and couldn’t ask for any better support… There is always so much support given to the adults to help us in our roles to best support the children. It is really a lovely home to be in and I know for sure the children feel loved and cared for.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Adults receive regular and effective supervision. These sessions are further enhanced by regular team meetings and a reflective space with the clinical team. This helps adults to feel fully supported in their roles and supports their continued professional development. Consequently, morale is extremely high.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Adults are provided with a balance of online and face-to-face training. They are trained to understand the therapeutic model of care and there is an established culture of reflective practice. Leaders and managers are forward-thinking and there are opportunities to evaluate how effective strategies are for supporting the needs of all children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1246834 6

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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: 1246834 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coach House, Arundel Road, Fontwell, Arundel BN18 0SX

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Inspector

Hannah Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1246834 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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